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Sat, 13 Sep 2014 05:11:54 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security Disability benefits: good news, bad news, and what you can do to prepare for the projected budget shortfallhttp://attorneywomack.com/blog/disability-law/medicare-medicaid-social-security-disability-benefits-good-news-bad-news-can-prepare-projected-budget-shortfall-2/
http://attorneywomack.com/blog/disability-law/medicare-medicaid-social-security-disability-benefits-good-news-bad-news-can-prepare-projected-budget-shortfall-2/#commentsWed, 20 Aug 2014 20:57:05 +0000http://attorneywomack.com/?p=2230As has been well reflected in recent news, an atmosphere of mistrust and uncertainty has taken root in the halls of the United States Congress as our county continues to face tough political, social, and economic problems. This atmosphere has further escalated fears about whether long-term solutions can be reached to sustain many important government-sponsored programs including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and Social Security Disability.

According to this Wall Street Journal Article, there is plenty of bad news and a little good news. The good news: Overall growth in medical costs and Medicare spending is down, while covering more individuals and full hospital benefits through 2030 – four more years than initially projected. Overall, the baby-boomer generation is in better health than previous generations moving into retirement age. The bad news: current estimates now project Social Security Disability Insurance will be able to pay only 81% of benefits starting in late 2016 unless Congress intervenes. In order to establish a short-term fix for this shortfall, a greater percentage of payroll taxes may be diverted away from the main Social Security benefits program and into the Disability benefits program. However, combined reserves for both programs are estimated to become depleted by 2033, leading to across the board benefits cuts unless a long-term funding solution is reached.

The individuals who rely upon these programs are often uniquely vulnerable to the consequences of benefits reduction or loss. For example, what if monthly disability payments get temporarily suspended due to shut down of government services? As a disabled individual with health-related limitations, you may be unable to negotiate the same kind of short-term adaptations to this situation available to fit individuals, such as working more or longer hours, or taking on a new or secondary income source. Worse yet, benefits cuts may persist for years.

Based on the recent experience of government shutdowns and failure to reach budgetary compromises, it would therefore be prudent to do some planning for future shortfalls. To cushion yourself against future income loss of any kind, it is always wise to establish a “nest egg” by putting as much money into savings as you can reasonably afford; saving at least 20% of your income for this purpose has been the recommended target. While some individuals use this money to act as a bridge between job loss and new employment, it can also be used to fill in the gap for benefits cuts which may occur due to the projected 19% shortfall in funding.

So what can a medically disabled individual receiving SSDI benefits do right now? Say, for example, that you are currently able to make it on your existing disability check (an extraordinary feat in and of itself, I might note.) After everything is taken out for monthly expenses, it is probably unlikely that you have much – if anything – left over to put towards savings. However, the Social Security Administration has special rules which allow individuals to continue receiving full SSDI benefits while working for a specified period of time if their earnings are within certain limits.

Here’s how it works: During a 9-month “Trial Work Period” you may earn an unlimited amount of money while still receiving full SSDI benefits; for 2014, a “TWP month” is one in which you earn at least $770. You may accumulate no more than 9 “TWP months” within 60 months (5 years.) Once TWP eligibility is exhausted you then enter a period of “extended eligibility” where you may work for up to 36 months while earning less than $1070 per month and still retain benefit eligibility. Disability-related work expenses (for example, special transportation arrangements or assistive devices) are deducted from this limit, so they do not count against you. (For SSI, the work rules are a little more complicated but know that a parallel system exists.)

In this situation I would recommend that individuals who are able to do so establish some kind of job which allows them the flexibility to work a few days per month to compensate for the potential cut in benefits until a sustainable political and budgetary solution is reached. Remember 2016 is the critical year according to the latest calculations.

It is interesting to note that these calculations keep changing as is demonstrated by the unexpected good news about the Medicare program. For those disabled who cannot do even supplemental work because of their exertional and non-exertional limitations, let us hope next years’ calculations of the solvency of the Social Security trust fund for disability and retirement yield good news for all those who depend upon these benefits as a critical lifeline.

]]>http://attorneywomack.com/blog/disability-law/medicare-medicaid-social-security-disability-benefits-good-news-bad-news-can-prepare-projected-budget-shortfall-2/feed/0When You’re Too “Worn Out” to Work: What being a “worn out worker” means for receiving disability benefits.http://attorneywomack.com/blog/disability-law/worn-out-worker-rule/
http://attorneywomack.com/blog/disability-law/worn-out-worker-rule/#commentsTue, 01 Jul 2014 22:54:14 +0000http://attorneywomack.com/?p=2203You’ve spent the majority of your adult life working by the sweat of your brow; whether working the land or on the factory floor, the labor you provide has been the only source of livelihood you have ever known. However, as you have advanced in age the years of cumulative wear and tear have finally taken their toll and you have become unable to recover full function and perform your job. In short, you’ve just become too worn out to continue working. But will the Social Security Administration see it that way?

Sometimes, under certain circumstances, the Social Security Administration agrees that you’re just too “worn out” to continue working until retirement age. This particular Social Security Disability rule is known as the “worn out worker rule” and applies to individuals meeting all of the following criteria:

You have a Marginal education. Generally, this is defined as the equivalent of 6th grade or less.

You have worked at least 35 years performing labor which is both unskilled and arduous. Work is considered unskilled when job duties are simple, can be learned in a short period of time, and require little or no use of judgment. Arduous work is work that is primarily physical in nature and requires high levels of strength or endurance. Repetitive bending and lifting at a very fast pace may constitute arduous work. This often, but does not always, conform to the Social Security definition of “heavy” work.

You have severe mental and/or physical impairments. This means the impairment must cause more than minimal limitation, and must interact with and functionally prevent the performance of work requirements in arduous labor.

While meeting these criteria is no guarantee that you will be automatically found disabled, you will certainly have fewer hurdles to clear in the process of obtaining benefits.Let me explain why: although many claimants are found to meet Step 4 criteria of the disability determination process – which states that the individual cannot return to prior relevant work due to his/her impairments – these cases frequently go on to fail at Step 5, when a determination will be made as to whether the claimant has transferable skills which would allow him/her to adjust to other, less mentally and/or physically demanding work. However, as a “worn out worker,” the Step 5 determination is rendered irrelevant as it is assumed that you have no transferable skills. Therefore, once you have proven that you cannot return to prior relevant work at Step 4, your case has effectively been won!

The trick, of course, is to develop evidence regarding 1) the nature and extent of your job skills and 2) what physical exertion level was required in the course and scope of your employment. The court employs Vocational Experts to make this determination using a reference manual which describes and categorizes every job according to duties, skills, and exertion levels. As a disability attorney, I am familiar with the criteria used and can help explain how your impairments are interfering significantly with key abilities needed to do your job effectively.